Many parents ask the question - "Is there anything that I can do to help my child succeed on this test?"

  The answer is YES - there are many things that can be done at home that will help students be better prepared to take this exam!

  One of the first ways to start helping your child prepare for this exam is to understand what the exam is all about. 

  The social studies exam is designed to test your child's knowledge of social studies and his/her ability to analyze information and draw conclusions from that information.  

The exam is divided into three sections.  

The first section is a multiple choice section.  In this part of the exam, students will answer 35 multiple choice questions that are based on grade 3 and grade 4 social studies content.

The second section of the exam is the constructed response questions - CRQ.  This type of question gives students some type of visual stimulus (a map, a graph, a chart, a picture or pictures, or a short reading passage).  It requires students to analyze the information and then CONSTRUCT a response to the questions asked, using information from the prompt. (This is very similar to type of question that we used to call "short answer" questions.)

The final part of the exam is called the DBQ essay. DBQ stands for Document Based Question. This essay requires students to look at several historical documents centered around a topic (these could be pictures, diary entries, maps, graphs, newspaper articles, political cartoons, etc.), analyze the information that they see and then answer an essay question using the information gathered from these documents and their own knowledge of social studies.  It sounds rather complicated, but in reality, it is really a very organized way for students to think and write.

The Social Studies test for the 2002-2003 school year  will be given on November 14 and 15.

Students will take this exam early in November.  It is given in two parts: Part I is the multiple choice section and the CRQ section combined.  Part II is the DBQ section.  Both parts are given in 90 minute time blocks.  The specific content of the questions is taken directly from the third and fourth grade curriculum, however the skills needed to be successful are skills students need as they grow in their ability to be critical thinkers.

Here, on this website, you will find a wealth of lessons, practices, tests and explanations to help your child review and reinforce what they know in preparation for this exam. You will find that ALL of the tested content area can be found on these pages.  You will also find a variety of games, practice pages and lessons that are specifically written to help your child succeed on this test.

Grade Three - US and World Cultures

Grade Four - US and New York State

Grade Five -Test Prep Review

 

In addition to using this site, some of the following suggestions will help strengthen your child's knowledge and skills of the world around them.

Encourage your child to read.  Have them read alone, read with them, read to them - even at this age they love to hear a great story.  Talk about what you read!

Spend time sharing the newspaper together.  Read and talk about current events.  Especially spend time reading and discussing the comics - they are a wonderful way to practice inferring information!

Look at family documents together.  Every family has photos, souvenirs, important documents that tell their family history.  We use these types of documents - called primary source documents - to discover the past.  Enjoy discovering your family's past with your children!!

 

These are just a few suggestions that will help your child succeed on the NYS grade 5 Social Studies exam!